Following gaucho tradition, two male dancers paired to tango

In gaucho tradition, 2 male dancers pair to perform

A tango show takes place Saturday, March 29, in Bridgeport, featuring Walter Perez and Leonardo Sardella.

A tango show takes place Saturday, March 29, in Bridgeport, featuring Walter Perez and Leonardo Sardella.

Photo: Contributed Photo

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A tango show takes place Saturday, March 29, in Bridgeport, featuring Walter Perez and Leonardo Sardella (with beard).

A tango show takes place Saturday, March 29, in Bridgeport, featuring Walter Perez and Leonardo Sardella (with beard).

Photo: Contributed Photo

Following gaucho tradition, two male dancers paired to tango

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From the "scandalous" dances of Buenos Aires' waterfront bars to high-society Paris salons, the tango has for decades mesmerized audiences and "seduced" participants.

And for decades, it was not uncommon for a tango couple -- both the "leader and follower" -- to be male.

"The Argentine tango was brought into existence nearly 150 years ago on the plains of Argentina by gauchos (cattle wranglers, akin to cowboys) who entertained themselves in the evening inventing dance moves around their campfires," according to Robert Beslove, a Bridgeport-based producer of ballroom dance events.

"And there is no greater team of dancers in the world who have captured the spirit of these `gauchos' than Walter Perez and Leonardo Sardella," who divide there time between homes in their native Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Manhattan, Beslove said.

"I saw them perform during a practice session in Manhattan three years ago and they were incredible. Audiences seem to agree with me because Perez and Sardella (who are partners in their professional and personal lives) continually dance to sold-out audiences throughout the world. Not only have they captured the culture of the Argentine tango, but dance it with the manly power of the gauchos who originated it."

In a telephone conversation from their Manhattan apartment, Perez said that he came to tango rather late, at age 21, in 1993, soon after both his parents died and he became responsible for four younger siblings.

"I turned to tango for therapy, a reason to get out of the house and to deal with my depression. I found the music to be nostalgic and melancholic; it seduced me and I came to love the music and the dance," Perez said. "There were older folks at the milongas (public tango parties) and they took me under their wing; that helped a lot with my motivation."

Sardella, who is 28 and sports a beard, said his introduction came at age 8, when his family sent him to dance school, "where we learned many folk dances," he said.

He spent his youth dancing in competitions and making a name for himself; by 18 he was a professional dancer, entertaining at dinner shows, he said.

"For me, it was a way to connect with my grandfather's generation. As you know, there was a lost tango generation in Argentina," when the music and dance were frowned upon by the ruling party (roughly from 1955 to 1983). "My parents were not involved with tango, but I wanted to reconnect," Sardella said.

"And then I fell in love with it, and now it is impossible to give up," Sardella said, laughing.

The couple began dancing together about three years ago, after meeting at an International Queer Tango Festival, which are presented around the world, Perez said. (They are planning on attending the 2014 event in July in Berlin.) The festivals are open to same-sex couples of both genders.

"It's a relatively new movement, but it is growing," Perez said, adding that participants believe that "lead is not determined by gender." Before the movement, gay couples were quite rare, although the practice of male siblings dancing together has been encouraged, Perez said. Anything that can help tango grow and prosper is positive, he said.

"Tango is more than just a dance to us; it is our lives," Perez said. "We teach and perform around the world for everyone and find that it is especially therapeutic for those with Parkinson's disease, Down syndrome, Alzheimer's and for those who might be socially awkward.

"In the end, you learn to trust your body and learn to convey all different types of emotion through tango," he said.

And that's what they'll be doing Saturday night. The pair will be featured in four solo tango settings: comedic, dramatic, modern and traditional. The evening will close with a segment in which the couple will invite the public to join them on the dance floor.